Bao Suixian, an official at the Public Security Ministry, defended the one-dog-per-household rule, saying Beijing’s policy must take into account citizens with dogs and those without them.

A spokesman for the administrative office of the Agriculture Bureau, which helped draft the rules, said the height limit was the result of input from dog owners, the public and academics. Dogs higher than 14 inches “make those who don’t own dogs psychologically afraid,” said the spokesman, who identified himself only as Mr. Lu.

The ban on large dogs previously applied to the city center, but it has been extended to the surrounding suburbs, including several wealthy residential compounds. Fines for keeping an oversize dog or more than one dog now run about $650.

Moves to curb dog ownership and prevent rabies have led to draconian action in other parts of China in the past. In August, tens of thousands of dogs were killed in Yunnan province in southwestern China after three people died of the disease.

Guo Yibing, 32, a freelance Web site designer in Beijing and owner of nine dogs, seven of them registered, said he had to move his pets to a neighborhood near the airport where the law is less strictly enforced.

“We just hope to change the restrictions and get many people to pay attention to this issue,” he said. “Dog owners have stable jobs and stable income, and we don’t want to disturb the social order.”